The present disclosure relates to a washing device for a vehicle.
With the proliferation of vehicle navigation systems in recent years, it is presently known that a vehicle user can attentively observe what is behind the vehicle while in reverse by use of an onboard camera installed at the rear of the vehicle that captures a rear view representing what exists or what is going on behind the vehicle and presents the captured view on a display of the vehicle navigation system. Because the onboard camera is located on the outside of the vehicle, however, a situation can arise where mud, or the like, adheres to the lens of the onboard camera. Accordingly, the onboard camera cannot pick up the rear view of the vehicle sufficiently well, making it difficult for the user to thoroughly observe what is behind the vehicle.
Under such circumstances, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-255018 proposes a washing device for a vehicle provided with a nozzle that ejects washer fluid onto a lens of an onboard camera for removing foreign matter adhering thereto and a pump that supplies the washer fluid to the nozzle. This kind of vehicular washing device enables a driver to wash the onboard camera while staying in the vehicle interior.
Also, a washing device for a vehicle described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-182080, for example, is provided with a single electric pump for selectively supplying washer fluid to a window washing nozzle or to a camera washing nozzle. In this vehicular washing device, a changeover valve is connected to the electric pump, and the window washing nozzle and the camera washing nozzle are connected to the changeover valve, so that the vehicular washing device can selectively supply the washer fluid to one of the nozzles chosen by the working of the changeover valve caused by manipulating a switch provided at the driver's seat. Accordingly, the vehicular washing device can selectively eject the washer fluid onto a window of the vehicle or onto a capturing surface of an onboard camera. This kind of vehicular washing device can wash the vehicle window and the onboard camera by use of the electric pump and a fluid tank, which are common to both.
Incidentally, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 61-85781 discloses as an example of the changeover valve a solenoid changeover valve device that switches between different fluid channels only while a voltage is applied. Specifically, the solenoid changeover valve device, which is provided with an excitation coil, drives the valve by an electromagnetic force generated when the excitation coil is energized so as to switch the fluid channel only while the excitation coil is energized.
The vehicular washing device of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-182080 selectively supplies washer fluid to a first nozzle (window washing nozzle) or a second nozzle (camera washing nozzle), that is, toward a first object to be washed or a second object to be washed by means of the single electric pump. In this vehicular washing device, the changeover valve is connected to the electric pump. The first nozzle and the second nozzle are connected to the changeover valve, so that the washer fluid can be selectively fed into one of the first nozzle and the second nozzle with aid of the changeover valve. Accordingly, this vehicular washing device can selectively eject the washer fluid onto one of the first object to be washed and the second object to be washed.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-245989 also proposes a washing device for a vehicle provided with a camera washing nozzle for removing foreign matter adhering to a lens of an onboard camera by spraying a washer fluid thereto. In the vehicular washing device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-245989, an electric pump for feeding the washer fluid stored in a tank located at a front part of the vehicle is connected to a rear window washing nozzle located at a rear part of the vehicle via a main pipe and a branch pipe that branches from the main pipe is connected to a camera washing nozzle. Then, a changeover device capable of selecting one of fluid channels may be provided at a branching part where the branch pipe branches out from the main pipe as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 61-85781, for example.
The vehicular washing device of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-255018 includes a washer fluid tank and a pump dedicated to washing the lens of the onboard camera, however. This results in a need for spaces for installing the tank and the pump and a cost increase.
Also, if the vehicular washing device employing the solenoid changeover valve device as described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 61-85781 is left in a state where the fluid channel is switched for a particularly long time, a high voltage continues to be applied to the changeover valve even after the fluid channel has been switched. This increases the power consumption.
Also, in the vehicular washing device of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-182080, the washer fluid may unexpectedly leak from the first nozzle (window washing nozzle) or the second nozzle (camera washing nozzle) regardless of the driver's intent during acceleration, deceleration or turning of the vehicle, or when the volume of the washer fluid increases due to expansion caused by exposure to sunlight or heat generated by an engine of the vehicle, for example.
Generally, the onboard camera installed at the rear of the vehicle begins to shoot an image of the rear view when a shift lever is shifted to the reverse position, so that it is desirable to switch the changeover device to the camera washing nozzle when the backup lamp is turned on. Typically, however, the backup lamp is provided in the body of the vehicle, while the camera washing nozzle is typically arranged in a back door. Thus, depending on varying locations of the backup lamp and the camera washing nozzle, tasks for wiring of signal lines and arranging the main pipe and branch pipes may potentially be laborious, or wiring and piping may be needed to be done over substantial lengths.